president obama scarred by failed negotiations in his first term and emboldened by a clear and close election to a second term has emerged as a different kind of negotiator. you know the criticism regarding the democrats not to stand united as a strong fist in the past with different negotiations. are we seeing a different strategy this time around where you put it all on the table and force the republicans' hand? >> well, the difference is, tamron, we just came out a presidential election where the issues we're talking about are central to the campaign. it wasn't a secret he thought we should have a balanced approach to look at the deficit and higher income individuals need to pay more. if we don't ask, everybody else is hit harder. the president is coming off a victory, and it's very clear that on this specific issue the overwhelming majority of the american people support him. so that's a big difference. as we come to the end of this fiscal cliff, republicans have to choose. do they call for $5 trillion in tax increases over the next ten years or are they going to allow the middle